Stranded Britons in Middle East – what you need to know as flights back to UK begin

More than 1,000 British nationals have arrived back in the UK on commercial flights from the Middle East, Sir Keir Starmer has said.

It comes as an estimated 300,000 Britons are believed to be in affected regions of the Middle East as the US-Israeli attack on Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory strikes enter their fifth day.

Thousands of flights have been cancelled since the joint US-Israeli operation was launched against Iran on Saturday, but some airlines are now operating out of the region again.

Follow the latest updates on the conflict with Iran

Here’s all you need to know.

What’s the latest travel advice for affected areas – and what flights are happening?

The Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel to Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and UAE, and against any travel whatsoever to and from Israel and Palestine.

You can find out the latest travel advice for all Middle East countries by visiting the government’s website.

After days of cancellations, airlines appear to be boosting the number of flights out of the Middle East to Britain, with a thousand British nationals arriving back in the UK from the UAE on commercial flights on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Emirates was expected to operate seven flights from Dubai to the UK while Etihad planned two Abu Dhabi departures.

Virgin Atlantic said it would operate a flight from Dubai to London Heathrow.

British Airways said it would be operating a flight from Muscat International Airport in Oman in the early hours of Thursday local time and would be assigning seats on “a first-come, first-served basis”.

In a statement to Sky News, BA confirmed it has scheduled further flights from Muscat to London Heathrow departing on 6 and 7 March for customers with an existing booking who are in Oman or the UAE.

Those wanting to make one of these flights should call BA on its dedicated phone line on +44 203 467 3854.

First flights return to UK

The prime minister told MPs on Wednesday that flights from the United Arab Emirates arrived back carrying “more than 1,000 British nationals” on Tuesday – and further flights from the region were scheduled for the coming hours.

Eight flights are set to leave the UAE on Wednesday, while the first charter flight is also expected to leave Oman with two more “in the coming days”, Mr Starmer said.

The Foreign Office said its first charter flight would depart from Muscat International Airport in Oman at 11pm local time (7pm UK time) on Wednesday, with priority given to the most vulnerable people.

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PM confirms charter flights

The flights will be available for British nationals, their partners and children under 18 with a valid travel document. Dependents who are not British nationals will require a valid visa or permission to enter or remain granted for more than three months.

People have been asked not to travel to the airport unless they’ve been contacted by officials.

Cruises in region also affected

There are also reports of thousands of cruise passengers stranded in Dubai and Doha as at least six cruises have been unable to leave.

The cruises have reportedly been ordered to stay put in areas deemed safe until new shipping routes can be determined, according to travel portal Hosteltur.

The cruise liners affected are reportedly MSC Cruises, TUI Cruises and Celestyal Cruises.

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‘I just want to get home’

Who needs to register their presence abroad?

As US President Donald Trump said the attacks will likely last between four to five weeks, the Foreign Office is urging British nationals in Middle Eastern countries to register their presence as the conflict with Iran deepens.

According to Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, 130,000 British nationals have registered their presence in the Middle East with the Foreign Office, as officials work on contingency plans, including a potential mass evacuation.

Here’s a list of countries where you should register your presence:

• Bahrain
• Israel
• Kuwait
• Palestine
• Qatar
• United Arab Emirates

You can let the government know you are in these countries via its website.

Could there be a mass evacuation?

Sky News understands UK officials have been working on plans for potential routes for the evacuation of tens of thousands of people should airspace in the Gulf remain off-limits.

Before revealing the return of more than 1,000 British nationals to MPs in the Commons on Wednesday, Sir Keir had said earlier this week the UK government is “looking at all options to support our people”.

Responding to a question on contingency plans for UK nationals in parliament on Monday, Sir Keir said the government was “working at speed with our partners in the region to take whatever measures we can to ensure that our people can return as safely and as swiftly as possible, and we will continue to do so”.

Urban Coningham, a research fellow and course lead at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), told Sky News that if the UK government were to go ahead with a full evacuation, it “would be the biggest evacuation since the Second World War”.

He said because of the “sheer scale of the numbers involved, it is very unlikely the UK government would choose to begin this process unless there was no other option”.

Read more:
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Mr Coningham added: “If this evacuation happened, it would be one of the most complex and costly consular efforts in UK history.

“UK officials will want to have plans in place for worst case scenarios as soon as possible to avoid higher costs in crisis conditions.”

Sky News has approached the Foreign Office and Downing Street for comment.